Boreal Chickadee

IDENTIFICATION AND SONG Similar to more common Black-capped Chickadee but crown and back brown and sides reddish brown. Song a husky, buzzy zick- a-zee-zee, lazier and more nasal than call of Black-capped Chickadee. Year-round resident of northern Maine. NEST Uses cavities in snags, stumps, or branch stubs with soft heartwood. May excavate new cavity or use existing woodpecker or natural cavity of appropriate size. No evi- dence for tree species preference. Cavities usually <10’ from ground. FOOD Seeds, berries, variety of insects. TERRITORY SIZE Can be over 10 acres. Photo: Peter Caulfield FOREST CONDITION Prefers older forests with >80% canopy cover and tall (>50’) conifer trees, though found in younger coniferous forests with available cavity or decaying trees. Prefers spruce and balsam fir. Typically replaced by Black-capped Chickadee in mixedwoods.

FOREST HABITAT ASSOCIATION Prefers Northern Softwood forest. HABITAT AGE CLASS Prefers older forest (dominant trees 70-100 years old and 10-16” diameter), but will use intermediate forest (dominant trees 20-70 years old and 5-10” diameter) or young forest (dominant trees 0-10 years/0-25 years old and <1”/1-5” diameter).

HABITAT FEATURES

LAYERS Light gray lines divide

ft overstory (>30’), midstory (6–30’), and understory (<6’), and are not to scale > 30

BIRD Layer where bird typically seen and/or where male typically sings 30 ft – 6 NEST Typical nest type and height 6 ft – 0 Generalized graphic depicting forest type, age, layer, and any special features where the bird and nest are typically found.

MANAGEMENT NOTES Maintain stands with abundant snags >12” DBH for cavity excavation. Retain spruce and balsam fir as preferred tree species. In younger stands if cavity trees present

Information from Forestry for Maine Birds: A Guidebook for Foresters Managing Woodlots “With Birds in Mind.” Maine Boreal Chickadee (BOCH) Habitat Diagram Audubon 2017. Available at maineaudubon.org/ffmb.